Do I have to register my Seattle rental, and what does RRIO cost in 2026?
Yes. Every rental unit in the city, a single-family house included, is registered with the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections under the Rental Registration and Inspection Ordinance (SMC Chapter 22.214). The 2026 fee is $126 per property, which covers the first unit, plus $31.50 for each additional unit at the same property; the amounts include SDCI's 5% technology fee. Registration lasts two years. Register as soon as you have a tenant.
Each registered property is selected for inspection once in its first five years. A City inspector costs $241.50 per property plus $52.50 per additional unit; a private qualified inspector's report carries a $63 filing fee. Renting without registration is enforced at $150 per day for the first ten days and $500 per day after that, and an unregistered unit cannot be the basis of a just-cause eviction.
The second registration is the Seattle business license tax certificate. City Finance's Director's Rule 5-002 requires one for business activity in the city, and its $4,000 exemption is only for businesses with no place of business in Seattle. The lowest 2026 fee tier is $73.
How much notice do I give for a rent increase in Seattle, and what is EDRA?
Any housing-cost increase in Seattle needs at least 180 days' written notice (SMC 7.24.030, in force since November 9, 2021), double the state's 90-day floor. The notice follows the state form in RCW 59.18.720, carries the City's required Renting in Seattle language, and takes effect at the start of a rental period; a notice without the City language is unenforceable and starts the clock over. SDCI's worked example: an increase on June 1 needs the notice in the tenant's hands by December 2.
If the increase reaches 10% or more within a 12-month period, the Economic Displacement Relocation Assistance program applies (SMC Chapter 22.212, effective July 1, 2022). You attach the City's EDRA notice to the increase notice. A tenant household at or below 80% of area median income that moves out can be advanced three times its monthly housing cost by the City, which then bills the landlord. With the 2026 state cap at 9.683% on covered tenancies, an increase that triggers EDRA is also over the cap unless an RCW 59.18.710 exemption applies, so the practical ceiling for most Seattle houses is under 10%.
What can I collect at move-in: deposits, fees and pet deposits?
The security deposit and all non-refundable move-in fees together cannot exceed one month's rent (SMC 7.24.035). Non-refundable fees are limited to cleaning and tenant screening and to 10% of one month's rent; charge cleaning at move-in and you cannot charge it again at move-out. A pet deposit of up to 25% of one month's rent can be added on top (SMC 7.24.038); assistance animals are not pets.
Tenants can pay the move-in costs, and last month's rent, in installments: six equal monthly payments on a lease of six months or longer, four on a shorter fixed term, two on a month-to-month agreement, with pet deposits in three. No interest, and no declining an applicant for choosing installments. Late fees are capped at $10 per month and a landlord cannot charge a fee for serving a notice (SMC 7.24.034, Ordinance 126803, 2023). Move-out itemization and refund stay on the state's 30-day clock (RCW 59.18.280).
How does first-in-time screening work in Seattle?
Seattle's first-in-time rule (SMC 14.08.050, upheld by the Washington Supreme Court on November 14, 2019) sets the order of a Seattle leasing: publish the screening criteria and the minimum threshold for each before taking applications, note the date and time each completed application arrives, screen them in that order, and offer the unit to the first applicant who meets the criteria. An applicant who needs more time to supply information you did not list, or a translation or disability accommodation, is given at least 72 hours and keeps their place in line; an applicant who is offered the unit has 48 hours to accept before you move to the next completed application.
The criteria themselves are yours to set, within fair-housing law, Seattle's Fair Chance Housing limits on criminal history (SMC 14.09), and the statewide source-of-income protection (RCW 59.18.255). The rule does not apply to an accessory dwelling unit on the lot where the owner lives or to units reserved for vulnerable populations; a rented house the owner does not live in is inside it. The Office for Civil Rights (206-684-4500) answers the edge cases.
Can I end a tenancy or decline to renew? Just cause, winter and school-year defenses
A Seattle tenancy ends only for a just cause listed in the Just Cause Eviction Ordinance (SMC Chapter 22.205, formerly SMC 22.206.160). The ones a single-family owner uses most: owner or immediate-family move-in with 90 days' notice when no comparable vacant unit exists; sale of a single-family house with 90 days' notice; non-payment after a 14-day pay-or-vacate notice; a material lease violation uncured 10 days after a comply-or-vacate notice; waste, nuisance or criminal activity on 3 days' notice. A fixed-term lease must be offered a renewal 60 to 90 days before it ends unless just cause exists, and non-renewal needs just cause plus 60 days' notice.
Two defenses change the calendar. Between December 1 and March 1 a tenant household at or below 80% of area median income can raise the winter eviction defense (SMC 22.205.080); it does not apply to owners with fewer than four properties, to owner or family move-in on 90 days' notice, or to the sale of a single-family home on 90 days' notice. During the Seattle school year, September through June, households with children in school (daycare through high school) and school employees have the school-year defense (SMC 22.205.110), with the move-in exemption but no sale exemption. A sale planned for spring is served in the autumn.
What changes on July 1, 2027 under the rental junk-fee ordinance?
The City Council passed the rental junk-fee ordinance (Ordinance 127497, Council Bill 121254) 8–0 on August 11, 2026; the Legistar record shows the Mayor's signature on August 18, 2026, and the City held its public signing on September 15, 2026. It takes effect July 1, 2027, when SDCI enforcement begins. From that date only the fees on the allowed list can be charged: move-in costs within the one-month cap, pet deposits within 25%, utility surcharges, late fees within the $10 cap, parking, tenant-caused damage, air-conditioner rentals, dishonored checks (the lesser of $31 or cost), key replacement (the lesser of $50 or cost), lock-outs ($50 in working hours, $150 on weekends), private use of common areas, qualifying insurance, and disclosed optional services at the landlord's cost.
Pet rent, pet screening fees, package fees, administrative, month-to-month, lease-signing, lease-renewal and re-application fees are prohibited. Listings, advertisements and applications must show the rent, every fee, utilities and the average total monthly cost. Fees in an existing lease can run until the lease ends or July 1, 2027, whichever is later. Leases signed from now on are written with the 2027 list in mind.